David Moyes has boldly claimed that West Ham should have been ‘3-0 up at half-time’ against Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Hammers crashed out of the competition in the quarter-finals to the German champions after their second-leg showdown ended in a 1-1 draw in east London.
Michail Antonio opened the scoring for Moyes’ side before Jeremie Frimpong equalised for the Bundesliga side in the 89th minute.
Moyes, who guided West Ham to Europa Conference League glory last term, was left proud of his team’s performance.
‘If anything, we should probably have scored three in the first half and we didn’t take the chances when we should have done,’ Moyes said after the match.
‘In the first leg we were much deeper and defended incredibly well for the best part of 85 minutes.
‘Tonight we were completely different and put them under a lot of pressure. Really we should be been 2-0, possibly 3-0 up at half-time.
‘We’ve had the likes of Man City here and Liverpool here over the years, and I’ve always said I want to give the big teams a game.
‘I thought we gave them a really good game tonight. Just not quite enough and that’s the difference.
‘They’re probably at a higher level and they’ve certainly got more to pick from coming off the bench, which they had again tonight.
‘It made it difficult for us to keep up the same levels of energy we had in the first half tonight.’
Meanwhile, West Ham striker Antonio was left furious after the clash and slammed the match officials.
‘It doesn’t feel like you’re playing against 11 men, it feels like you’re playing against 13…14 including the two linos,’ he said. ‘I felt like I didn’t get a decision all game.’
MORE : Liverpool will beat Atalanta in ‘chaotic’ Europa League comeback, Danny Murphy predicts
MORE : Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini responds to Liverpool link ahead of Europa League clash
MORE : Jarrod Bowen returns to West Ham training ahead of Europa League quarter-final second leg with Bayer Leverkusen
